Chapter 344 That Damn Lu Yuan

"On the battlefield, swords have no eyes, and life and death are unpredictable. If I were to marry now, not only would I be unable to give her true love, but I also don't know when I might lose my life, leaving her a widow for nothing. Wouldn't that be harming her?"

"Pah, pah, pah! What kind of unlucky things are you saying? How can you curse yourself like that?" Jiang Zhi interrupted him repeatedly. "What about Marquis Wuyi and his wife?"

"So Zhizhi is here as an intermediary for my mother?" Xie Qi asked, staring at her.

Jiang Zhi paused for a moment under his injured gaze, "I did have this plan at first, but I felt it wasn't appropriate for me to advise you on this kind of thing."

Xie Qi snorted, "Good to know. I don't care what others say, but if you open your mouth, I'll really be furious."

"Does Young Master Xie intend to continue this stalemate with the Marquis?" Jiang Zhi asked again.

Xie Qi curled his lips, revealing the sharpness and shrewdness that only someone his age could muster. "I didn't get to where I am today because of the Marquis of Wuyi's influence. If things really don't work out, I'll just go back to Yaocheng. The emperor is far away, and even my father can't do anything to me there."

Jiang Zhi knew that Xie Qi was not exaggerating.

He was a man of great military achievements, and at a young age he quelled the war against the Northern Barbarians, ensuring peace and tranquility in the northern border of Daqi for a hundred years.

This is something not everyone can do.

If it weren't for the fact that the Marquis of Wuyi's family already held a noble title, even if Xie Qi were just a commoner, becoming a marquis and prime minister would have been within his reach.

“But no matter what, you can’t treat your body like a game,” Jiang Zhi thought of the purpose of her visit. “Your mother is worried about you and even condescended to come to the Shen residence to see me. How can you bear to make her sad?”

Xie Qi nodded, "I understand. As long as Zhizhi helps me apply the medicine, I will obediently listen to her and recover."

“...Other maids could also do this kind of thing,” Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but say.

“But I’m afraid the old man will do something drastic to me,” Xie Qi said confidently. “But as long as it’s Zhizhi, I’ll be happy to do it.”

Jiang Zhi was utterly speechless. Although she wanted to say that the Marquis of Wuyi shouldn't treat his own son like this, she had already promised the Marquis's wife, so she could only reluctantly agree.

Seeing that Xie Qi was in excellent spirits, Jiang Zhi was about to get up and say goodbye, and come back tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, the old woman guarding outside suddenly called out loudly, "My lord, have you come to see the young master?"

The Marquis of Wuyi's deep voice came, "How are his injuries?"

“My lord, my lord,” the nanny tried to stop him, “the young master has just taken his medicine and fallen asleep. Would you like to come and see him again later?”

Marquis Wuyi frowned in displeasure. "What, do I need to pick a time to come see him? Should I send him another visiting card? Get out of my way."

Judging from the sound, the person had already entered the courtyard.

Jiang Zhi was also stunned.

If Marquis Wuyi were to see her alone with Xie Qi here, he would likely become even angrier, deepening the rift between father and son.

She frantically searched for a place to hide, when Xie Qi suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her into the bed, tearing off the heavy brocade curtains behind him.

“The old man’s internal strength is not low. You’ll be easily discovered if you hide elsewhere,” Xie Qi’s deliberately lowered voice came through the blankets. “You’re safest here.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door was pushed open, and Marquis Wuyi entered with a stern face. Upon seeing the lowered brocade curtains, his brows furrowed deeply.

"You're hiding your minor injury like this? What kind of behavior is that?" she said, stepping forward to pull back the brocade curtain.

The old woman followed Marquis Wuyi in. Not knowing where Madam Shen was hiding, she was afraid something might happen, so she turned around and went to inform Madam Wuyi.

Xie Qi's weak voice came through, "Father, it is too impolite of me to be dressed in such disheveled clothes after applying medicine, so I will not come out to pay my respects to you."

Marquis Wuyi paused, withdrawing his hand that was about to lift the brocade curtain, but still couldn't help muttering, "Pretentious."

"What brings you here, Father?" Xie Qi asked.

Marquis Wuyi snorted, "What did the doctor say about your leg injury?"

Although I was angry, he was still my son, and I couldn't just ignore him.

Xie Qi didn't argue with him anymore, and only said respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Father. The doctor said that fortunately no bones were broken, and I will be fine after a few days of rest... Hmm."

His voice suddenly changed tone.

In the rush, he only had time to tuck Jiang Zhi into his own bedding, without noticing her position at all.

But only now did he realize that she was lying motionless on his lower abdomen, her warm breath tickling him, making his lower abdomen involuntarily tense up.

Jiang Zhi seemed to realize that her position was not right and moved around carefully.

But if he didn't move, he would be fine. Once he moved, Xie Qi became even more restless. All his attention was focused on that spot, and his breathing became heavy.

He could feel Jiang Zhi's sleeve gently brushing against him, like a feather fanning him; the barely perceptible touch gave him the illusion of floating on clouds.

"What's wrong with you?" Marquis Wuyi frowned and asked, noticing the odd tone in his voice.

Jiang Zhi broke out in a cold sweat and immediately stopped moving.

Xie Qi's voice sounded as if nothing had happened, and he simply said, "I just accidentally aggravated the wound on my back."

Marquis Wuyi didn't take it to heart, and only asked about the purpose of his visit. "Tell me honestly, what kind of woman do you like? I won't talk about social status or anything like that. Anyway, you have made great military achievements. If you were to marry a woman from a high-ranking family, it would only arouse the emperor's suspicion. As long as she is of good character, I promise I will not object anymore."

Xie Qi's mind was not on this at all.

Just thinking about Jiang Zhixiang lying softly on his lower abdomen under the covers made him unable to suppress his thoughts. The scene from that day in the cave kept replaying in his mind, and he immediately became restless.

"I'm asking you a question, are you deaf or mute?" Marquis Wuyi urged.

Xie Qi coughed lightly to regain his composure. "Yes, my son likes women who are gentle and dignified in appearance, but not too rigid in temperament."

As he spoke, he pinched Jiang Zhi's cheek with his long, slender fingers, making a suggestive gesture.

Jiang Zhi didn't dare to move, so she turned her face and bit his hand hard.

"Hiss—it would be best if she had a bit of a temper," Xie Qi said, suppressing a laugh, "the kind that can scratch people."

Marquis Wuyi frowned. "Do you already have someone you like?"

Xie Qi said, "It's a pity they don't want to be with me."

“A true man can bend and stretch. If this one doesn’t work, he can try another. Why hang himself on one tree?” Marquis Wuyi expressed his disdain for his spineless behavior. “When did you become so indecisive?”

Jiang Zhi's head was held down by Xie Qi in the bedding, her cheek pressed against his lower abdomen. For some reason, she had a sense of déjà vu, as if it had just happened.

She was suddenly startled.

She finally understood why her mouth had been so sore when she woke up from Lu Yuan's place that morning!

The shameful images of last night's drunkenness flooded back uncontrollably.

He coaxed her into calling him "husband" and making her eat snacks she usually didn't like...

Damn Lu Yuan!

She was so angry she wanted to settle the score with him after she left the Marquis of Wuyi's residence!